Bringing back Honor and Dignity to the White House

I remember this being one of the main themes of 2000, on the heels of the Bill Clinton impeachment trial.

In 2000, I donated to John McCain's campaign. At that time I considered myself an Independent. I was unhappy with the Republicans for wasting the country's time and attention in a partisan attack over what should have been a private matter; however I was also somewhat ashamed at the actions of the person I had voted for in 1992. (In 1996 I voted Nader, knowing that Clinton's re-election was assured.) In 2000 I became a "Nader Trader", voting for Al Gore while someone in another state who knew there was no chance that his Gore vote would matter voted for Nader.

I didn't share the general view of Nader being a spoiler in 2000; however when he ran again in 2004 It made me lose any respect I had for him.

But back to Honor and Dignity.

Like so many others, I had been shocked and outraged at the 5-4 Supreme Court decision that stopped the recount. I decided that my Independent days were over and it was time to choose a side; and my choice was clear.

Still, I somehow didn't really get just how far the country had truly fallen in terms of "Dignity and Honor" in the White House.

That happened in 2004 during the Bush re-election campaign. Out of curiosity I checked out the official Bush 2004 website. I don't know what I expected, but what I got was mind-blowing; it was a rude awakening for me. I guess I had expected something, well, honorable and dignified from the website of the sitting President of the United States.

Instead, front and center was a cartoon of Senator John Kerry, entitled with something like "The John Kerry Flip-Flop Olympics!"; clicking the link brought you to a game where you were 'educated' in Kerry's so-called Flip-Flops while playing a game in which a cartoon figure of Kerry flipped and flopped around.

This, I repeat, was on the official website for re-election of the President of the United States.

It was at this point that I truly realized how far this country had fallen, and how little "Dignity" and "Honor" truly remained in the White House. To put it mildly, I preferred a private sexual indiscretion (made public by the Republicans) to this dumbing-down of America and this completely undignified and dishonorable method of campaigning on this official website for George W. Bush.

Fortunately, I don't see the same type of thing front and center on the McCain site this year; however I see the same type of thing in his campaign's dishonest attacks on Obama and I see their attempts to caricaturize Obama primarily using "dog-whistle" race-based statements to the press. The only difference is that this dirty work is primarily being done by subordinates and is not front/center on his website. This is probably because his campaign would like him to appear presidential; once he actually attains the office, I'd expect that they will feel they can get away with the same thing the Bush campaign did in 2004 on their official website.

I want TRUE dignity and TRUE honor returned to the White House this year, and I've seen enough from the Obama campaign to know that they will not stoop to the same dirty tactics as the Republicans. They'll remain focused on the issues and on what's really important to the American People (like me.)

So here's hoping for some true dignity and honor in the White House come January 2009.

the Constitution that these rat bastards have trampled.

And they filled the impeachment hearings with sanctimonius crap about upholding the Constitution and preventing abuse of executive power.

Then look what happened. Where are their cries of outrage now?